Substrate support bushing

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for supporting a substrate within a processing chamber is provided. In one aspect, a substrate support member is provided comprising a housing having a bore formed therethrough, a support pin at least partially disposed within the bore, and a plurality of bearing elements disposed about the housing. In one aspect, the bearing elements comprise a roller having a central bore formed therethrough, a contoured outer surface, and a shaft at least partially disposed through the central bore. In another aspect, the bearing elements comprise a ball assembly comprising a larger spherical member and four smaller spherical members arranged about the larger spherical member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a substratesupport pin. More particularly, embodiments of the present inventionrelate to a support pin for large glass panels.

2. Description of the Related Art

Thin film transistors have been made on large glass substrates or platesfor use in monitors, flat panel displays, solar cells, personal digitalassistants (PDA), cell phones, and the like. These transistors are madeby sequential deposition of various films including amorphous silicon,both doped and undoped silicon oxides, silicon nitride, and the like invacuum chambers. The film deposition takes place in a single depositionchamber or system, or the substrate being processed is transferred amongmultiple deposition chambers. Within each deposition chamber, thesubstrate being processed typically rests on a support pedestal situatedwithin the chamber. To facilitate transfer of the substrate between thedeposition processes, support members, such as a plurality of pins forexample, are mounted on an upper surface of the support member so thatthe substrate is spaced apart from the support pedestal. This allows atransfer mechanism such as a robot blade to slide underneath a back sideof the substrate and lift the substrate off the support pedestal withoutcausing damage to either the support pedestal or the substrate.

The support pins are most often vertical posts having a fixed heightthat are secured to an upper surface of the support pedestal. Thesupport pins are usually rigid, providing no forgiveness for frictionagainst the glass substrate disposed thereon. This friction most oftenresults in unwanted particle contamination. Additionally, the supportpins have a tendency to chip, bend, or break due to the repetitiveloading and unloading of the substrates. These events occur due tomisalignment of the substrate as the substrate enters and leaves theprocessing chamber. Damage to the pins may also occur due to operatorerror and most often, the damage is due to normal wear and tear.Accordingly, the support pins are usually replaced after extendedperiods of use, causing down time for removing the damaged pins andinstalling the replacements.

There is a need, therefore, for a support pin capable of reducingfriction with a substrate disposed thereon, which increases thelongevity of the support pin and reduces the amount of down time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally provides a substrate support member forsupporting a substrate within a processing chamber. In one aspect, thesubstrate support member comprises a housing having a bore formedtherethrough, a support pin at least partially disposed within the bore,and a plurality of bearing elements disposed about the housing.

In another aspect, the substrate support member comprises a housinghaving a bore formed therethrough, and a plurality of bearing elementsdisposed within the bore wherein at least one of the bearing elementscomprises a roller having a central bore formed therethrough and acontoured outer surface, and a shaft at least partially disposed throughthe central bore.

In yet another aspect, the substrate support member comprises a housinghaving a bore formed therethrough, and a plurality of bearing elementsdisposed within the bore wherein at least one of the bearing elementscomprises a ball assembly comprising a larger spherical member and foursmaller spherical members arranged about the larger spherical member.

The present invention also provides a processing chamber having asubstrate support assembly disposed therein. In one aspect, the chamberincludes a chamber body having a support pedestal disposed therein, andtwo or more support members each disposed on an upper surface of thesupport pedestal. The support members comprise a housing having a boreformed therethrough, a support pin at least partially disposed withinthe bore, and a plurality of bearing elements disposed within the bore.In another aspect, the chamber includes a lift assembly disposed withinthe chamber body, adjacent the support pedestal. The lift assembly isadapted to load and unload substrates to and from the support pedestal.

In one aspect, the bearing elements comprise a roller having a centralbore formed therethrough, a contoured outer surface, and a shaft atleast partially disposed through the central bore. In another aspect,the bearing elements comprise a ball assembly comprising a largerspherical member and four smaller spherical members arranged about thelarger spherical member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentinvention can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of one embodiment of a support memberdescribed herein.

FIG. 1B is a schematic view of one embodiment of a bushing shown in FIG.1A.

FIG. 1C is a schematic view of one embodiment of a bearing element shownin FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1D is a partial cross section view of the bearing elements shown inFIG. 1C.

FIG. 2A is a schematic view of another embodiment of a support memberdescribed herein.

FIG. 2B is a top view of the support member shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is another schematic view of a fully assembled support membershown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of an exemplary plasma-enhancedchemical vapor deposition chamber utilizing the support members as shownin FIGS. 1A-D and FIGS. 2A-C, either alone or in combination.

FIG. 3A is a schematic sectional view of a particular embodiment of theplasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition chamber shown in FIG. 3. Inthis embodiment, the chamber includes a lift-off plate to facilitate thetransfer of a substrate on and off a susceptor.

FIG. 3B is a schematic sectional view of another particular embodimentof the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition chamber shown in FIG.3. In this embodiment, the support members shown in FIGS. 1A-1C and2A-2D are disposed at least partially within a support assembly disposedwith the chamber.

FIG. 3C is a schematic sectional view of yet another particularembodiment of the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition chambershown in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the support members shown in FIGS.1A-1C and 2A-2D are disposed at least partially within the supportassembly as shown in FIG. 3B. The chamber also includes a lift plate toactivate the support members.

FIG. 4 is a schematic top-view of an exemplary multi-chamber processingsystem.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a batch-type heating or coolingcassette utilizing the support members, either alone or in combination,as shown in FIGS. 1A-D and FIGS. 2A-C

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1A shows a schematic view of one embodiment of a support member100. As shown, the support member 100 includes a housing, such as abushing 102 having one or more bearing elements 110A, 110B (two areshown) and a support pin 120 at least partially disposed therein. At afirst end thereof, a substrate (not shown), such as any semiconductorsubstrate including a flat panel display, round wafer, liquid crystaldisplay, glass panel substrate, plastic substrate, and the like, issupported thereon. At a second end thereof, the support member 100 istypically disposed on an upper surface of a support pedestal, susceptor,robot blade, shelf, or other member adapted to hold or support asubstrate thereon (not shown).

FIG. 1B shows a schematic view of the bushing 102. The bushing 102 is anannular member having a central bore 105 and one or more windows 107formed therethrough. Preferably, the bushing 102 resembles a cylindricaltube. In one aspect, the bushing 102 includes a first set of windows 107located at a first end thereof and a second set of windows 107 locatedat a second end thereof. The actual number of windows 107 is a matter ofdesign; however, it is preferable to have a set of four or more windows107 located at the first end of the bushing 102 and a second set of fouror more windows 107 located at the second end of the bushing 102.Additional sets of windows 107 may be desired based on the intended useand processing environment of the support member 100.

FIG. 1C shows a schematic view of the bearing elements 110A, 110B shownin FIG. 1A. FIG. 1D shows a partial cross section view of the bearingelements 110A, 110B. Referring to FIGS. 1C and 1D, the first bearingelement 110A is housed within the first set of windows 107 at leastpartially formed through the first end of the bushing 102. The secondbearing element 110B is housed within the second set of windows 107 atleast partially formed through the second end of the bushing 102. In oneaspect, each bearing element 110A, 110B includes one or more rollers 112having a central bore 113 formed therethrough and a shaft 114 disposedat least partially through the central bore 113. The shaft 114 issecured to the bushing 102 to hold the roller 112 in place. In oneaspect, the ends of each shaft 114 are chamfered to form a conical shapeas shown in FIG. 1C. Upon installation of the bearing elements 110A,110B, within the bushing 102, the rollers 112 are held into place via afriction fit facilitated by the ends of the shafts 114 arranged oppositeone another. Gut out 115 are helpful for manipulating the shafts 114within the bushing 102.

The bearing elements 110A, 110B support the pin 120 in the center of thebushing 102. The bearing elements 110A, 110B allow the support pin 120to move axially through the bore 105 of the bushing 102 and rotatewithin the bore 105 with minimal resistance. Consequently, the bearingelements 110A, 110B reduce wear and tear on the support pin 120 andreduce unwanted particle generation caused by friction.

Referring again to FIGS. 1A and 1D, each roller 112 preferably has anouter surface that is curved or concave to compliment the contour of theouter surface of the support pin 120, which is typically cylindrical inshape. The curved outer surface of the roller 112 provides a guide tofacilitate movement of the pin 120 in an axial direction relative to thebushing 102. The curved outer surface of the roller 112 also allows thepin 120 to rotate freely within the bushing 102. The roller 112 may beconstructed of any process compatible material, such as ceramics,graphite, stainless steel, aluminum, alloys thereof, and combinationsthereof, for example.

FIGS. 2A-C show a schematic view of another embodiment of a supportmember 200. In this embodiment, the support member 200 includes a sleeve210 and a bushing 202 having one or more bearing elements 220 at leastpartially disposed therein. The support member 200 also includes aflange 240 disposed about an upper end of the bushing 202.

Referring to FIG. 2A, each of the one or more bearing elements 220includes at least one spherical member 221. In one aspect, each of theone or more bearing elements 220 further includes four additionalspherical members 222 having a smaller diameter than the sphericalmember 221. Each bearing element 220 is disposed within a ball seat orwindow 230 formed in the bushing 202. The sleeve 210 is disposed aboutthe outer diameter of the bushing 202 to encapsulate the bearingelements 220 within their respective window 230. The flange 240 servesas a shoulder or stop for the sleeve 210.

In one aspect, four windows 230 each having a bearing element 220disposed therein are evenly spaced about a first diameter of the bushing202 at a first end thereof and four windows 230 each having a bearingelement 220 disposed therein are evenly spaced about a second diameterof the bushing 202 at a second end thereof. The cooperation of thewindows 230 and the bearing elements 220 allow the support pin 120 tomove axially within the bore 205 of the bushing 202 as well as to rotateabout a central axis of the bushing 202.

FIG. 2B shows a top view of the support member 200 shown in FIG. 2A, andFIG. 2C shows another schematic view of a fully assembled support member200. The bushing 202 is an annular member having a central bore 205formed therethrough. Preferably, the bushing 202 resembles a cylindricaltube. The bearing elements 220A-D described above are each disposedwithin a respective window 230A-D formed in the bushing 202. The sleeve210 is disposed about the outer diameter of the bushing 202, and thesupport pin 120 is disposed within the bore 205. The sleeve 210 and thesupport pin 120 collaborate to contain the balls 221, 222 within theirrespective window 230 formed in the bushing 202. The flange 240 may be aseparate component as shown on an extended outer diameter of the bushing202. The flange 240 prevents the sleeve 210 from traveling axially pastthe first end of the bushing 202.

Referring again to FIGS. 1A and 1C, the support pin 120 of the supportmember 100 and the support member 200 will now be described in greaterdetail. Preferably the support pin 120 is a cylindrical member having afirst end 120A and a second end 120B as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2C.

In one aspect, the support pin 120 may have a heavier lower portion orthe second end 120B may be made of a heavier material to lower theoverall center of gravity of the support pin 120. For example, the lowerportion of the pin 120 or the second end 120B may be constructed of amore dense material using materials, such as Teflon® or ceramic coatedstainless steel, for example.

The first end or pin head 120A directly contacts a substrate (not shown)to support the substrate. Typically, the first end 120A is coated with amaterial that reduces friction and is chemically inert with thesubstrate disposed thereon. For example, the first end of the supportpin 120A may be coated with a chemically inert material to reduce oreliminate chemical reactions between the support pin 120 and thesubstrate supported thereon. Additionally, the first end of the supportpin 120A may be coated with a material that minimizes friction with thesubstrate to reduce breakage or chipping. Exemplary coatings include butare not limited to ceramic materials and nitrides such as siliconnitride, titanium nitride, and tantalum nitride. Further, the first end120A preferably has a surface roughness of no more than 4 micro inches.A more detailed description of such coatings may be found in U.S. Pat.No. 6,528,767, which is incorporated by reference herein.

In one aspect, the first end 120A may have a planar or substantiallyplanar surface, as shown. In another aspect, the first end 120A may havea rounded upper portion that contacts a substrate disposed thereon. Therounded surface reduces surface area in contact with the substratethereby reducing the chances of breaking or chipping the substratedisposed thereon. In one embodiment, the rounded surface resembles ahemispherical, ellipsoidal, or parabolic shape. The rounded surface mayhave either a machined or polished finish or other suitable finish ofadequate smoothness. A more detailed description of such support pinsand coatings may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,767, which isincorporated by reference herein.

In yet another aspect, the first end 120A of the support pins 120 may bea two piece system having a cap (not shown) disposable on the body ofthe pin 120. The cap is preferably made of a ceramic material, andincludes a hollow body to receive the body of the pin 120. The upperportion of the cap may be rounded and smoothed as discussed above.Similarly, the cap may be coated as described above. A more detaileddescription of such a two piece system may also be found in U.S. Pat.No. 6,528,767, which is incorporated by reference herein.

In yet another aspect, the first end 120A of the support pin 120 may bea socket that retains a ball moveable within the socket. The ball makescontact with and supports the substrate disposed thereon. The ball isallowed to rotate and spin, much like a ball bearing, within the socketallowing the substrate to move across the ball without scratching. Theball is generally constructed of either metallic or non-metallicmaterials that provide friction reduction and/or inhibit chemicalreaction between the ball and the substrate. For example, the ball mayinclude a metal or metal alloy, quartz, sapphire, silicon nitride orother suitable non-metallic materials. Preferably, the ball has asurface finish of 4 micro-inches or smoother. The ball may furtherinclude the coating or coatings described above. A more detaileddescription of such a support pin may be found in U.S. Pat. No.6,528,767, which is incorporated by reference herein.

Alternatively, the first end 120A of the support pin 120 may be a twopiece system having a cap disposable on the body of the pin 120, wherebythe cap includes the socket and ball configuration described above. Amore detailed description of such a ball and socket may be found inco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/982,406, as well as Ser.No. 10/376,857, both entitled “Substrate Support”, and both assigned toApplied Materials, Inc. Both co-pending applications are incorporated byreference herein.

The support members 100, 200 described herein are suitable for use inany testing chamber, processing chamber, or system that requires supportof a substrate. For example, the support members 100, 200 areparticularly useful within a deposition chamber, such as a chemicalvapor deposition (CVD) chamber or plasma enhanced chemical vapordeposition (PECVD) chamber. For clarity and ease of description, a PECVDchamber utilizing the support members described herein is describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 3 and 3A-3C.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a plasma-enhanced chemicalvapor deposition chamber 310. The PECVD chamber includes a chamber body312 having an opening formed through a top wall 314 and a gas inletmanifold 316 disposed within the opening. Alternatively, the top wall314 can be solid and the gas inlet manifold 316 is located adjacent aninner surface thereof. The gas inlet manifold 316 serves as an electrodeand is connected to a power source 336, such as a RF power source.

A susceptor or support pedestal 318 is disposed within the chamber body312. The support pedestal 318 resembles the form of a plate and extendsparallel to be gas inlet manifold 316. The support pedestal 318 istypically made of aluminum and coated with a layer of aluminum oxide.The support pedestal 318 is connected to ground and serves as a secondelectrode so as to connect the power source 336 across the gas inletmanifold 316 and the support pedestal 318.

The susceptor or support pedestal 318 is mounted on the end of a shaft320 which extends vertically through a bottom wall 322 of the chamberbody 312. The shaft 320 is movable so as to permit the movement of thesupport pedestal 318 vertically up and down within the chamber body 312.Two or more support members 300, described above as support members 100and 200, are disposed on an upper surface of the support pedestal 318 todirectly contact and support a substrate 325 therein. While there areonly two support members 300 shown, any number of support members 300may be arranged about the upper surface of the support pedestal 318. Thenumber and arrangement of the support members 300 depend on the shapeand size of the substrate 325 to be processed as well as the processperformed with the chamber 310. In one aspect, each support members 300is identical, such as either the embodiment 100 described above or theembodiment 200 described above. In another aspect, the support members300 may be a combination of the embodiments 100 and 200 described above.For example, one or more of the support members 300 may be theembodiment 100 described above and one or more of the support members300 may be the embodiment 200 described above.

Still referring to FIG. 3, the chamber 310 further includes a gas outlet330 extending through a side wall 332 of the chamber body 312. The gasoutlet 330 is connected to a pump (not shown) for evacuating gases fromthe chamber body 312. A gas inlet conduit 342 is in fluid communicationwith the gas inlet manifold 316, and is connected through a gasswitching network (not shown) to sources (not shown) of various gases.Process gases flow via the inlet conduit 342 through a showerhead 344,and into the chamber body 312. The showerhead 344 includes a pluralityof apertures 340 formed therethrough to evenly distribute the gasesacross the surface of the substrate 325 to be processed below.

FIG. 3A shows a schematic sectional view of a particular embodiment ofthe plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition chamber 310 having a liftassembly 324 to facilitate the transfer of a substrate 325 on and offthe support pedestal 318. The lift assembly 324 extends horizontallybetween the support pedestal 318 and the bottom wall 322 of the chamberbody 312. The lift assembly 324 is substantially parallel to the supportpedestal 318 and is vertically movable. In one embodiment, two or moresupport members 300 are disposed on an upper surface of the liftassembly 324 instead of the upper surface of the support pedestal 318.In another embodiment (not shown), both the support pedestal 318 and thelift assembly 324 may have two or more support members 300 disposed onan upper surface thereof.

The su port members 300 are positioned to extend through lift holes 328formed through the susceptor 318. While there are only two supportmembers 300 shown, any member of support members 100 (or 200) may bearranged about the upper surface of the lift assembly 324. The numberand arrangement of the support members 300 will depend on the size ofthe substrate 325 to be processed as well as the process performed withthe chamber 310. As stated above, each support member 300 is identical,such as either the embodiment 100 or the embodiment 200 describedherein, or alternatively, the support members 300 may be a combinationof the embodiments 100 and 200.

FIG. 3B shows another embodiment of a PECVD chamber 310 having thesupport members 300 disposed at least partially within the supportassembly 318. In this embodiment, the support pedestal 318 includes aplurality of holes 328 disposed therethrough. The support members 300are disposed at least partially within these holes 328. Generally, aflared first end 302 of the support member 300 is substantially flushwith or slightly recessed from an upper side 319A of the supportpedestal 318 when the support members 300 are in a normal position(i.e., retracted relative to the support pedestal 318). Additionally, asecond end 304 of the support members 300 extends beyond a lower side319B of the support pedestal 318. As the support pedestal 318 is loweredto a transfer position, the support members 300 come in contact with thebottom surface 322 of the chamber 312 and are displaced through thesupport pedestal 318 to project from the upper side 319A of the supportassembly 318, thereby placing the substrate 325 in a spaced-apartrelation to the support pedestal 318.

In one aspect of this embodiment, the support members 300 may havevarying lengths as shown so that the support members 300 contact withthe bottom 322 and are actuated at different times. For example, longersupport members 300 may be spaced around the outer edges of thesubstrate 325, and shorter support members 300 may be spaced inwardlyfrom the outer edges toward the center of the substrate 325, allowingthe substrate 325 to be gradually lifted from its outer edges to itscenter.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the support members 300 may all beof uniform length, but the bottom 322 of the chamber 312 may includeextensions or plateaus 351 positioned beneath selected support members300 so that these selected support members 300 are actuated before theothers. Alternatively, the chamber bottom 322 may comprise grooves ortrenches (not shown) aligned beneath selected support members 300, sothat these support members 300 are actuated after the others.

FIG. 3C shows another embodiment of a PECVD chamber 310 having thesupport members 300 disposed at least partially within the supportpedestal 318 as shown in FIG. 3B, and also includes a lift plate 324 toactivate the support members 300. In this embodiment, the lift plate 324is disposed proximate the underside 319B of the support pedestal 318,and below the second ends 304 of the support members 300. The lift plate324 is coupled to an actuator such as a pneumatic cylinder, hydrauliccylinder, lead screw, solenoid, stepper motor or other motion device(not shown) that is typically positioned outside of the chamber body312. The vertical motions of the lift plate 324 and the support pedestal318 may be controlled via a single actuator utilizing a spring and amotion stop that controls the relative motion between the lift plate 324and the support pedestal 318. In operation, the lift plate 324 movesupward, contacting the second ends 304 of the support members 300, whichextends the support members 300 beyond the upper surface of the supportpedestal 318.

As described above, the support members 300 may each have differentlengths to actuate the support members 300 at different times.Typically, the support members 300 disposed about the perimeter of thesupport pedestal 318 are longer than the support members 300 disposedabout the center of the support assembly 318. A reverse arrangement mayalso be useful.

Testing chambers and processing chambers utilizing the support members100, 200 described herein, such as the processing chamber 310 describedabove, may be integrated into a processing platform, such as an AKT 15K,25K, or 40K PECVD System available from AKT, Inc., located in SantaClara, Calif. Details of these PECVD Systems are described in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,320, entitled “Vacuum Processing ApparatusHaving Improved Throughput”, which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic top-view diagram of an exemplary multi-chamberprocessing system 400. The processing system 400 includes a centraltransfer chamber 412 to which are connected a load lock chamber 414 fortransferring glass substrates into and out of the system 400. Theprocessing system 400 also includes one or more processing chambers 438,440, 442, 444, 446, 448 each disposed about the central transfer chamber412. Any one or more of the processing chambers 438, 440, 442, 444, 446,448 may be a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber, a physical vapordeposition (PVD) chamber, an atomic layer deposition chamber (ALD), anannealing or heat treatment chamber, or any other processing chamberknown in the art. Exemplary CVD chambers making use of the supportmembers 100, 200, 300 described herein are shown and described above.The other processing chambers may have similar uses of the supportmembers 100, 200, 300, and thus, will not be discussed in detail.

The load lock chamber 414 includes a closable opening, such as a slitvalve 416 disposed within a side wall thereof for transfer of thesubstrates into the vacuum environment of the processing system 400 fromthe atmosphere. Further, the load lock chamber 414 contains a cassette(not shown) fitted with a plurality of shelves or platforms forsupporting and cooling multiple substrates therein, such as shown inFIG. 5.

FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional view of a particular batch-type storagecassette 517. The cassette 517 includes side walls 512, 514, a bottomwall 516 and a lid 518. A plurality of channels 520 is disposedthroughout the side walls 512, 514. In one aspect, the channels 520 maybe in fluid communication with inlet and outlet conduits 524 and 526 forcirculating a temperature controlled fluid therethough. In anotheraspect, the channels 520 may contain heating coils connected to a powersource (not shown) via a conduit 527. Alternatively, the same conduits524, 526 can be used for both enclosing the heating coils and forcirculating the heat transfer medium in the channels 520.

The interior of the side walls 512, 514 are fitted with a plurality ofheat conductive shelves 560. The shelves 560 are in good thermal contactwith the walls 512, 514 to insure rapid and uniform control of thetemperature of the shelves 560. Examples of materials that may be usedfor the shelves 560 include, but are not limited to, aluminum, copper,stainless steel, clad copper, and the like.

One or more supports 300, as described above with reference to FIGS.1A-D and FIGS. 2A-C, are suitably arranged on each shelf 560 to supporta glass substrate 532 thereon. The supports 300 maintain the glasssubstrates 532 to be processed so that there is a gap between theshelves 560 and the glass substrates 532. This gap insures that directcontact between the shelf 560 and the glass substrate 532 is avoidedwhich might stress and crack the glass substrates 532 or result incontaminants being transferred from the shelf 560 to the glass substrate532. The glass substrates 532 are heated indirectly by radiation and gasconduction rather than by direct contact of the glass substrate 532 andthe shelves 560. Further, the interleaving of the glass substrates 532and the shelves 560 provides heating to transfer the glass substrates532 from both above and below, providing more rapid and more uniformheating of the glass substrates 532.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the glass substrates can be loaded into theprocessing system 400 manually or in an automated fashion. As shown inFIG. 4, a commercially available robot 474 mounted on a rail frame 480outside the processing system 400 at a first station opposite the loadlock chamber 414 can retrieve a glass substrate from a storage cassette417A, B or C, and load the glass substrates one at a time into theprocessing system 400 via the load lock chamber 414. Likewise, the robot474 can retrieve processed substrates from the load lock chamber 414 andreturn the substrates to one of the storage cassettes 417A, B or C.Similarly, a robot (not shown) disposed within the transfer chamber 412moves and positions the glass substrates within the processing system400.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A substrate support member for supporting a substrate in a depositionchamber, comprising: a cylindrical housing having a longitudinal boreformed through the housing, a plurality of windows formed through thehousing, the plurality of windows formed in a radial direction throughthe housing at a first end thereof and at a second end thereof, and oneor more cut-outs formed between an outer surface of the housing and atleast one of the plurality of windows; a support pin at least partiallydisposed within the bore, the support pin having a first diameter and asecond diameter, the second diameter being greater than the firstdiameter; and a plurality of roller elements at least partially disposedin the windows and configured to contact and facilitate axial movementof the support pin along the length of the support pin having the firstdiameter.
 2. The support member of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of roller elements comprises a body having a contoured outersurface, a central bore formed through the body, and a shaft at leastpartially disposed through the central bore.
 3. The support member ofclaim 2, wherein the support pin has a circular cross section and eachroller element has a concave outer surface to contact an outer diameterof the support pin.
 4. A substrate support member, comprising: acylindrical housing having a longitudinal bore, a plurality ofsubstantially equally spaced windows formed radially therethrough, andone or more cut-outs formed between an outer diameter of the housing andat least one of the windows; a support pin having a circularcross-section at least partially disposed in the bore, the support pinhaving a first diameter and a second diameter, the second diameter beinggreater than the first diameter; and a plurality of roller elementsdisposed within the bore and configured to contact and facilitate axialmovement of the support pin along the length having the first diameter,at least one of the roller elements comprising a roller made of aceramic material having a central bore formed therethrough, a contouredouter surface, and a shaft at least partially disposed through thecentral bore.
 5. The support member of claim 4, wherein the plurality ofwindows are formed in the housing at a first end thereof and at a secondend thereof, each window having one of the roller elements at leastpartially disposed therein.
 6. A substrate support member for supportinga substrate, the substrate support member disposable within a susceptordisposable within a vacuum chamber, comprising: a cylindrical bushinghaving a bore formed longitudinally therethrough; and a plurality ofroller elements disposed within the bore, the plurality of rollerelements adapted to contact and provide axial movement to a support pinat least partially disposed within the bore, the support pin having afirst diameter and a second diameter, the second diameter being greaterthan the first diameter, wherein at least one of the roller elementscomprises a body supported by a shaft, the shaft at least partiallydisposed in and supported by the bushing, wherein the bushing has fourwindows formed therethrough at a first end thereof and four windowsformed therethrough at a second end thereof, each window being formed ina radial direction relative to the bore and having one of the rollerelements at least partially disposed therein.
 7. The support member ofclaim 6, wherein the bushing has one or more cut-outs formed between anouter diameter of the bushing to at least one of the windows.
 8. Thesupport member of claim 7, wherein each roller element has a centralbore therethrough, the shaft at least partially disposed within thecentral bore and the one or more cut-outs.
 9. The support member ofclaim 7, wherein the shaft has a circular cross section with at leastone chamfered end.
 10. The support member of claim 9, wherein one of theat least one chamfered ends from the shaft of one of the plurality ofroller elements and one of the at least one chamfered ends from theshaft of another of the plurality of roller elements are at leastpartially disposed in and supported by an adjacent cut-out.
 11. Thesupport member of claim 6, wherein each of the roller elements comprisesa contoured outer surface.
 12. The support member of claim 6, whereineach of the plurality of roller elements is comprised of a materialselected from the group consisting of: ceramic, graphite, stainlesssteel, aluminum alloys, or combinations thereof.
 13. A substrate supportmember for supporting a substrate in a deposition chamber, comprising: acylindrical housing having a longitudinal bore formed through thehousing, a plurality of windows formed through the housing, theplurality of windows formed in a radial direction through the housing ata first end thereof and at a second end thereof, and one or morecut-outs formed between an outer surface of the housing and at least oneof the plurality of windows; a support pin at least partially disposedwithin the bore, the support pin having a first diameter and a seconddiameter, the second diameter being greater than the first diameter; anda plurality of roller elements at least partially disposed in thewindows and configured to contact and facilitate axial movement of thesupport pin along the length of the support pin having the firstdiameter, wherein the plurality of windows comprises four windows formedthrough the housing at the first end thereof and four windows formedthrough the housing at the second end thereof.
 14. A substrate supportmember for supporting a substrate in a vacuum chamber, comprising: acylindrical bushing having a bore formed therethrough and a plurality ofequally spaced windows formed between the bore and an outer diameter ofthe bushing, the bushing disposable on a support pedestal in the vacuumchamber, the support pedestal being adapted as an electrode in thevacuum chamber and coupled to a power source; and a plurality of bearingelements disposed within the bore, the plurality of bearing elementsmade of a ceramic material and adapted to contact and provide axialmovement to a support pin at least partially disposed within the bore,wherein at least one of the bearing elements comprises a rollersupported by a shaft, the shaft at least partially disposed in andsupported by the bushing.
 15. The substrate support member of claim 14,wherein each roller includes a concave outer surface.
 16. The substratesupport member of claim 14, wherein each roller includes a central boreto receive the shaft.
 17. A substrate support member for supporting asubstrate in a processing chamber, comprising: a support pin having afirst diameter and a second diameter, the second diameter being greaterthan the first diameter; a cylindrical bushing having a bore formedtherethrough and a plurality of equally spaced windows formed betweenthe bore and an outer diameter of the bushing, the bore sized to receivethe first diameter, the bushing disposable on a support pedestal in theprocessing chamber, the support pedestal being adapted as an electrodein the processing chamber and coupled to a power source; and a pluralityof bearing elements disposed within the bore, wherein the plurality ofbearing elements are made of a ceramic material and each bearing elementbeing at least partially disposed in the windows.
 18. A substratesupport member, comprising: a cylindrical housing disposable in asupport pedestal disposable in a processing chamber, the supportpedestal coupled to a power source, the housing having a plurality ofwindows formed through the housing and one or more cut-outs, theplurality of windows formed in a radial direction through the housing ata first end thereof and at a second end thereof, and the one or morecut-outs are formed between an outer surface of the housing and at leastone of the plurality of windows; a support pin at least partiallydisposed in and axially supported by the bore, the support pin having afirst end to contact the substrate and a second end to contact a lowersurface of the processing chamber; and a plurality of bearing elementsdisposed within the bore, wherein the support pin moves relative to thehousing disposed in the support pedestal, and wherein each of theplurality of bearing elements comprises a ceramic material.
 19. Asubstrate support member, comprising: a cylindrical housing disposablein a support pedestal disposable in a processing chamber, the supportpedestal coupled to a power source, the housing having a plurality ofwindows formed through the housing and one or more cut-outs, theplurality of windows formed in a radial direction through the housing ata first end thereof and at a second end thereof, and the one or morecut-outs are formed between an outer surface of the housing and at leastone of the plurality of windows; a support pin at least partiallydisposed in and axially supported by the bore, the support pin having afirst end to contact the substrate and a second end to contact a lowersurface of the processing chamber; and a plurality of bearing elementsdisposed within the bore, wherein the support pin moves relative to thehousing disposed in the support pedestal, and wherein the first end ofthe support pin includes a first diameter and the second end of thesupport pin comprises a second diameter, the first diameter beinggreater than the second diameter.
 20. The support member of claim 1,wherein each of the plurality of roller elements comprises a ceramicmaterial.
 21. The support member of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of roller elements comprises a shaft and the shaft is at leastpartially disposed in the one or more cut-outs.
 22. The support memberof claim 2, wherein the shaft is at least partially disposed in one ofthe one or more cut-outs.
 23. The support member of claim 1, wherein thehousing is disposable in a susceptor in the deposition chamber.
 24. Thesupport member of claim 23, wherein the susceptor is adapted as anelectrode and is coupled to a power source.
 25. The support member ofclaim 1, wherein the second diameter comprises a flared end.
 26. Thesupport member of claim 4, wherein the housing is disposable in asusceptor in the deposition chamber.
 27. The support member of claim 26,wherein the susceptor is adapted as an electrode and is coupled to apower source.
 28. The support member of claim 4, wherein the seconddiameter comprises a flared end.
 29. The support member of claim 6,wherein the support pedestal is adapted as an electrode and is coupledto a power source.
 30. The support member of claim 6, wherein the seconddiameter comprises a flared end.
 31. The support member of claim 14,wherein the support pin comprises a first diameter and a seconddiameter, the second diameter being greater than the first diameter. 32.The support member of claim 31, wherein the second diameter comprises aflared end.
 33. The support member of claim 17, wherein the seconddiameter comprises a flared end.
 34. The support member of claim 18,wherein the first end of the support pin comprises a first diameter andthe second end of the support pin comprises a second diameter, the firstdiameter being greater than the second diameter.
 35. The support memberof claim 34, wherein the first end comprises a flared end.
 36. Thesupport member of claim 19, wherein the first end comprises a flaredend.